2. OUR HEALTHCARE OF THE FUTURE Society and Maastricht UMC+ face the great challenge of organising care in a more sustainable way, so that it remains affordable and accessible. The place and time of healthcare and the demand for care are changing, as people want care near to home if possible, but in hospital if necessary. Improving the outcomes of care and how patients experience it are central to Our Healthcare of the Future. We redesign our care pathways together with our patients and from their point of view. We take responsibility for the whole care chain, from home to hospital to returning home. Personal attention makes the difference: we are working on personalised care, patient participation and a service model that gives patients more time and attention. We are interested in lifestyle, nutrition and exercise. We decide on treatment advices as an interdisciplinary group and in consultation with the patient. We apply new technological developments and scientific understanding. We seize the opportunities for digital innovation, such as digital coaches for measuring and monitoring, dashboards and good information provision for the patient and care partners in the whole care chain. Together with our partners, we choose good data registration and the use and sharing of relevant data. At the same time, we are working to reduce the burden of registration. We organise our care using tried and tested concepts and care innovation. In doing this, we make use of continuous improvement programmes and projects in the areas of quality, safety, value-based healthcare, operational excellence and the patient’s personal experience. The aim is to strengthen our improvement culture, the continuity of quality and the safety of care. To this end, we build on ideas from various knowledge areas and programmes, including Positive Health. In addition, we search for more sustainable models for continuity of care, using task reallocation and job differentiation. Sharing expertise helps us to achieve optimum care and an excellent patient experience. We also encourage the provision of care outside the hospital where possible. The patient’s perspective, based on his or her changing role, possibilities and context, is paramount here. The patient decides and has control over his or her own medical file. Through our continuous collaboration with the faculty’s researchers, we are able to offer innovative concepts. This all requires that care professionals and other professionals take on a changed role, different competences and a new position. For example, we invest in ‘verpleegkundiger worden’ (‘becoming more of a nurse’), through which a nurse can direct care together with the doctor. Investing in and developing new competences, systems, processes, planning and logistics are activities that we carry out step by step, naturally in conjunction with our other strategic programmes. MOLLY, THE VIRTUAL NURSE Remote monitoring of patients with chronic cardiac insufficiency can be more effective and more user-friendly through the use of a virtual nurse. The ‘smart care avatar’, which has been named ‘Molly’, helps patients to keep their condition under control in their daily life. Research at Maastricht UMC+ has shown that digital self-help produces a number of benefits in the case of cardiac insufficiency. For example, using this form of eHealth results in greater disease-specific knowledge and self-care, reduces hospital admissions and lightens the load for cardiac insufficiency nurses. In the coming years, Maastricht researchers will continue to develop Molly. In order to tackle future challenges, researchers want to go one step further and put patients in a position to treat themselves. 38 Healthy Living 2025
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